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Elizabeth Short manages major shows and events across Canada for some of the world's best-known brands.

From background research and creative concept to boardroom presentation and implementation, everything must be on strategy, on target and on time.

In her world, words matter. "Organizational and communication skills are critical in our business - so is attention to detail," says Short.

"We correspond with numerous people every day and have relationships that have been built over years. One ill-conceived email can spell disaster for contract negotiations, equipment orders or client expectations.

But for Short, finding people with the ability to communicate well and appropriately can be a challenge. Many people take a casual approach to communication, she says.

"It creates a decline in professionalism, takes longer to gain trust and is a testament to inexperience."

Canadian statistics are sparse, but a study by the National Commission on Writing found that 64 of the largest U.S. corporations, employing close to eight million people, spend as much as $3.1 billion annually to follow up on the poor writing skills of employees.

"The writing skills of those coming into the workforce are more deficient than ever before," says Paul Fink, senior vice-president with CBRE commercial real estate brokers in Toronto.

"Gone are the days of word processing pools with people trained to format business correspondence. Today there is a computer on every desk being used by those who have never learned how to compose a letter."

Email and social media are also part of the problem.

"People rarely make phone calls anymore," adds Short. "You don't often get the same level of information from quickly composed emails.

"And Twitter and Facebook, with their limited characters, are affecting language in other contexts. All of the basic rules of respectful, clear, concise English should be applied but are not."

Sandra Folk is founder and president of The Language Lab, an online service that provides instruction in written communication.

"Everyone is in a time crunch, and everything is needed now," she says. "Individuals and organizations must be clear, succinct and precise with the words they choose every day. Dashing off a quick email with mistakes or inadequate information results in lost productivity and creates a bad impression of both the sender and the organization."

It can also lead to far more serious consequences: If language used in agreements is vague and acted upon based on interpretation, the resulting actions could have financial or even legal implications, Folk says.

At CBRE, Fink worked with The Language Lab to implement a customized online training program to help brokers write in plain language using protocols established for the commercial real estate business.

Participants work through multiple modules at their own pace and receive immediate feedback on tests and assignments. One acquired skill is to reread letters, emails and presentations to remove words that don't add value.

"The result is much more crisply written correspondence," Fink says.

Results of the training are hard to quantify, but Fink says the program has created a more confident team that communicates better. He also believes that people more skilled in communication win more assignments, execute programs better and secure more long-term business.

Poor writing skills can affect corporate reputation and financial success, and result in individuals taking a hit in earnings potential. The abridged nature of texts and emails, speed of composition and lack of judgment can all hold back, or even sabotage, careers.

"While short forms may be understood by your circle of friends, when communicating in business the recipient needs to understand what it is that you are trying to convey," says Seleena Juma, a consultant with the executive search practice of Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions in Toronto.

"When time is not taken to effectively compose an email or other communication, it displays a lack of interest."

When seeking candidates for senior positions, professionals who are responsive, proactive and engaging in their communication are always preferred, she says.

"Their competency breeds confidence."

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